Georgy Schennikov s first-half strike and a Jardel own goal earned CSKA Moscow a 2-0 win over Benfica on Wednesday, keeping the Russian side s hopes of Champions League progression alive.

With nine points on the board, CSKA travel to Old Trafford next month to take on Group A leaders Manchester United knowing their fate is in their own hands, although they will be without key players Bibras Natcho and Pontus Wernbloom through suspension.

Benfica s rotten campaign continues with another defeat and the Portuguese side are guaranteed to finish bottom of the pool, having been beaten in all five of their games, scoring just one goal, after suffering the ignominy of having CSKA goalkeeper Igor Akinfeev record his first clean sheet in the Champions League proper since Novembe…

Tiemoue Bakayoko is hopeful he can help AC Milan qualify for the Champions League this season to help secure a permanent move from Chelsea. 

The France international joined Milan on loan at the start of the campaign, with the Italian club also having an option to buy the player for a reported €35million fee.

Bakayoko has enjoyed his time in Serie A so far after struggling to make an impact at Stamford Bridge. The former Monaco midfielder admits he wants to remain at San Siro beyond this season. 

It s my dream [to stay], the thought fixed in my mind, he told Corriere dello Sport. But I have a contract with Chelsea. 

[Milan chief] Leonardo says the deal is tied to the Champions League. I m not in a position to talk about it. I just want to…

Germany s rising stars marked themselves out as the ones to beat in the future as a 1-0 win over Spain in Krakow secured the European Under-21 Championship title.

Spain entered the match as favourites with the likes of Marco Asensio, Saul Niguez and Gerard Deulofeu signed by Barcelona earlier in the day powering their attack, but Stefan Kuntz s defence held firm.

Germany, who have the likes of eligible players Timo Werner, Leon Goretzka and Julian Draxler representing the full national squad at the Confederations Cup, had the better of the chances in the first half and their goal an improvised header by Hertha Berlin s Mitchell Weiser was richly deserved.

Spain launched forward after the break but Julian Pollersbeck was excellent in the German goal to deny Spain …

According to a recent report from AS, French champions Paris Saint-Germain could consider selling wonderkid Kylian Mbappe to Real Madrid during next summer’s transfer window – but only if Vinicius Junior is considered as part of the deal in some form of swap agreement. 

PSG know that they hold all of the cards in this scenario and that if Real are serious about signing Mbappe, they’re going to have to bring the big money. The popular Frenchman is still riding the high created by his performances in the 2018 FIFA World Cup last year, during which time he was able to guide France to the final where he managed to score. 

Vinicius, on the other hand, is a star in the making but hasn’t quite been able to maintain the sort of consistency you’d expect from a Rea…

Yaya Toure is set to be remembered as one of Manchester City s greatest players after the former Ivory Coast international confirmed his retirement.

An underwhelming final chapter in a second spell at Olympaicos was not the ending Toure deserved, but it should not cloud judgment of one of African s finest ever footballers.

Toure s £24million move to City from Barcelona in 2010 raised many eyebrows but he quickly proved a pivotal figure in Roberto Mancini s side, inspiring City to the FA Cup and Premier League title in consecutive seasons.

City bid for another top-flight crown this weekend, with Pep Guardiola s side aiming to retain the trophy they won in Toure s final campaign at the club.

Earlier in his career, Toure famously won the C…

Cristiano Ronaldo accepts his most ambitious dream of winning the World Cup with Portugal is over, but has held off from making a definitive call over his international future.

Five-time Ballon d Or winner Ronaldo left the field in tears on Saturday following Portugal s shock 1-0 quarter-final loss to Morocco at Al Thumama Stadium.

The 37-year-old made history in Qatar by becoming the first player to score in five separate World Cups, having netted in each edition since 2006.

However, that landmark goal – a penalty against Ghana in Portugal s opening group match – proved a rare high point in a tournament that ended in frustration and heartbreak.

Ronaldo lost his place in the side and was a second-half substitute in the last-16 win over Switzerland and…

According to a recent report in England, Manchester United are ready and willing to make a move to try and sign Ajax star Donny van de Beek. 

The popular youngster featured heavily for Ajax during their run to the Champions League semi-finals last season, with many believing that he would be heading to an even bigger club during the summer. That didn’t quite come to fruition, though, ensuring that the rumour mill starts back up once again in January. 

United are also interested in Hakim Ziyech of Ajax, but their main focus remains van de Beek. It looks like manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is going to miss out on quite a few key targets over the course of the next few weeks and potentially even months, but that certainly isn’t going to stop them from going after s…

Roy Keane could not understand Michael Carrick s praise for his Manchester United players after a 1-1 draw at Chelsea on Sunday.

United battled to a point away at the Premier League leaders, following up a 2-0 win at Villarreal in Carrick s first game as interim manager.

The former midfielder is set to be replaced by Ralf Rangnick – another interim appointment – but was encouraged by their display, even as they attempted just three shots. United last had as few as three attempts against Manchester City in April 2017.

There was certainly a shift in United s approach from their previous league game at Watford, the 4-1 defeat that spelled the end for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer seeing only three high turnovers in an extremely passive performance.

Starting on th…

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Barcelona will be welcoming Athletic Bilbao to their stadium of Camp Nou on Sunday in what will be the 20th La Liga game of the season for either team. It should be a good match, between a strong team led by the world s arguably best player in search of the old ways of glory, and a revitalized, extremely tricky opponent known to cause them misery on occasion.

In fact, these two teams met in the final of the Supercopa de Espana two weeks ago, and Bilbao emerged triumphant after extra-time which ended with Lionel Messi being sent off for the first time in his club career. They also met 11 days prior to that in the league, in Bilbao, when Barcelona won by the same scoreline (2-3).

Barcelona

The Catalan club are nowhere near the heig…

Jose Mourinho has claimed Tottenham are the only one of his former clubs to which he does not feel any connection.

The Portuguese, 60, spent 17 months at Spurs but was sacked by chairman Daniel Levy in April 2021 just a week before they were to play Manchester City in the Carabao Cup final.

Mourinho had previously managed Porto, Chelsea, Inter Milan, Real Madrid and Manchester United, and has subsequently taken charge at Roma, winning the Europa Conference League and leading them to the final of this season’s Europa League, where they play Sevilla next Wednesday.

Speaking ahead of that fixture, Mourinho told a press conference: “I hope the Tottenham fans don’t get me wrong but the only club in my career where I don’t have still a deep feeling for is Totte…